Advice

Jamie Writes:
I believe I may suffer from schizophrenic decorating! We have been in a total makeover for well past two years now and I must admit I am the hold up. I like too many styles and can't seem to merge them. We have been on cement for over two years and I still can't decide on door hardware (embarassing at times with holes in the doors:-o)
I love the creams and whites walls with soft linen white drapery and architectual molding on the walls, but equally love the idea of a farmhouse reclaimed table. I have purchased some English white pine pieces (I am a sucker for chests), but also love the feminity of fluted legs on chairs. I want more than anything for my home to have a historic feel to it as well.
I obviously need professional help and I don't mean just decorating!
How do you merge what feels like two opposite looks?
I can send photos of my nightmare if needed.

Ana Answered:

Hi Jaime, I am thrilled to have an opportunity to answer your question because I too have great appreciation for all different styles of decorating. Be it modern to country, traditional to transitional - good design comes in as many styles as there are colors!

But as you have noted, sometimes mixing different styles can make a room lack integrity and look mismatched. The trick is to unify the room. If your room is not unified by style, than you can unify it by color.

My suggestion is to start with an object that you love and treasure, so...

Brandon Writes:
My living room, dining room and kitchen are pretty open to each other in an L-like shape. Currently the kitchen is an orange tone that I really like and the other rooms are a boring white. We want to add some color to the other rooms, is it too much, if there are clear breaking points to have a different color in each room, as long as they complement each other?
See Answer From Theresa & Mark Clement »

Tracy Writes:
I have a bedroom which is about 13 x 20 feet. One wall is various colors of green natural stone and another wall is wood framed windows with off white blinds. The carpet is light green and off white.
I would like to paint the other two walls, and I'm thinking of beige with green undertone. What is your suggestion?
See Answer From Melissa Michaels »

Cherie Writes:
My husband and I are re-doing our kitchen in phases. We've already replaced our island and flooring, and now we're ready to choose the rest of the cabinets. Our island is a beautiful dark-ish green, and my plan was to NOT have the island the same color as the other cabinets, but to let it compliment the cabinet color instead. Our floors are a wood look porcelain tile with a rustic farmhouse appeal. The problem is I've always assumed my cabinets would be a golden/honey wood stain but now I'm afraid that trying to blend wood cabinets with the wood look floors will be a problem and we should get painted wood cabinets instead, but still, I have no idea what color we should get. Please give me some direction so I can finally have the beautiful kitchen I've always wanted! See Answer From Eduardo Rodriguez »

Faith Writes:
I have turquoise walls and am planning to have black and white furniture, a white bed and desk, black dresser and bookshelf. I have ruffled curtains and a matching bedspread. I am trying to find accent pillows. I couldn't find the type I wanted in anything other than a pale pink. Would two or three pale pink pillows look odd or out of place? Would adding a few other light pink objects help? Or should I just stick with white and black and go find other pillows? See Answer From Diane Henkler »

Brensy Writes:
My walls, ceiling, and crown molding are all the same shade of antique white. I have soffits around all four sides of my dining room with high ceilings. I am thinking of painting the soffits a darker neutral beige or taupe color and leaving the walls as they are. I want the crown molding to pop and my husband wants the walls to stay white. What do you think? See Answer From Stefanie Schiada »